Just heard the Stuart Hamblin song "This Old House" sung that old folk-singer Bette Midler. I have loved this song since elementary school. Hearing it today conjured up a hazy memory.

Many years ago I heard the supposed story of how this song came to be. Stuart and a friend were hunting in the mountains when a snow storm came up. They started looking for shelter and finally spied a cabin. Stuart's friend touched his shoulder and told him, "There's a dead man in that cabin". Stuart asked his friend, "How do you know that?" His friend said, "There's a dog on the front porch, but there's no smoke coming out of the chimney."

They went inside and sure enough, there was an old man who had died still in the cabin. He had been preserved by the cold air. They started a fire and Stuart was inspired to write the song. When the storm was over, they made sure the dead man was properly buried.

Anyone know more about this story?

Roger in Baltimore